When she met Dave, I think she knew that he would be the one. After dating for 5 or 6 months, he got a job transfer to Tokyo, and trusting in how she felt, she moved a million miles away with him. Crazy and amazing at the same time, right? That’s how much she knew she loved him. After Tokyo, Dave got another job transfer, and they’re now living in Hong Kong totally in love, and with their adorable dog.

They flew in to New York City for the wedding, and tons of people flew in from all corners of the word, including Australia and Japan, to attend. Everything about the wedding was just amazing! I was sad that I didn’t get to use my camera much since I was in bridesmaid mode, but here are some photos from before the ceremony.

How great is the flower in the hair?

Here is Lara, trying to convey how big she wanted her hair to be.

I’ve spent some serious time wondering where or when I could rock out these crazy fake feather eyelashes.

Some of the lovely purple details. We had a running discussion about whether asparagus was actually used in the bouquet, so someone took a bite and confirmed…not asparagus. Isn’t the stamped “Bride” tag adorable?

The Vera Wang gown was seriously TDF fabulous [my sister has informed me that I am too old to say TDF...]  and the detailing on the dress was unbelievable.

Sandra helping Mary with attempting to find a bustle.

Alyssa, the sister and Maid of Honor.

It’s a totally different experience photographing a friend’s wedding when you’re not the wedding photographer.  For starters, there’s no lugging around the two giant cameras, lenses, flashes, etc., but even more than that it totally changes the dynamic.  There’s no setting up the lighting, there are a ton of people with point and shoot cameras clamoring (and sometimes nudging) in front of you, and if you’re traveling light with one lens, you just work with what you’ve got.

We recently attended our friends, Ramya and Mark’s wedding in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.  There was tons and tons of fantastic Indian food, some seriously great warm weather (well, warm compared to DC, the native Floridians were all in some serious coats when we were there) and lots of great catching up with other friends who attended, much of it over some Texas Hold’em using gummy bears and jolly ranchers.  The wedding was so vivid, just full of unbelievably rich colors.

Now the whole image is a bit softer, but there were certain parts of the photo that I want to keep sharp, mainly the hair, the eyes, and the eyebrows. To make sure these parts aren’t blurry, I added a Vector Mask, and from here, used a black paintbrush to paint over the areas that I want to keep sharp. To do this, go to Layer –> Vector Mask –> Reveal All. Select the paintbrush tool, select black paint, and then paint over the parts that you want to be sharp.

Finally, fix any skin imperfections. Click on the 7th icon down in your toolbar on the left and hold down until you see the Patch Tool show. Using the patch tool, encircle the area that you want repaired, select the Source button on the top bar, and then drag the encircled area to clean patch of skin. This tool is amazing.

Here is the below and after. No huge changes, but enough to make her look her best and draw attention straight to her amazing eyelashes.

Checking out some of the geese hanging out by the pond.

And my absolute favorite shot of the day!

Had a wonderful time doing the engagement shoot and wandering around Meadowlark with you both, Jackie and Mark, congrats on your engagement!

I saw this fantastic post at the Digital Photography School–Must Have Wedding Shots.  While this site is targeted more for photographers, this is a great resource for brides.  After you’ve spent months looking at amazing bridal magazines and seeing beautiful pictures and visualizing what you’ll look like on your big day, it’s extremely helpful to communicate with your photographer the concepts that you have been visualizing so that they can try to capture those moments.   It’s sort of like giving songs to a DJ to play for the wedding–you want to give them an idea of what you want to hear, but also give them the space to go where the music takes them.

Here are some of the key shots from the list they have and others from amazing wedding photos I’ve seen:

1. Prep Shots – Bride & Groom (one of my fave shots is one with bridesmaids surrounding the bride and helping the bride get her dress on).
2. The Dress – Hanging or Draped (preferably from window light)
3. The shoes (seriously–how can you miss the shoes?!)
4. The Window Shot – Bride facing out window with great soft light
5. Bride walking down stairs (especially if there is some sort of spiral staircase involved)
6. Bride Applying Make Up (love it when there is a great mirror reflection in this shot)
7. Groom Fixing Hair
8. Grooms Father & Best Man – Attaching Boutonnière to grooms lapel
9. Groom and best men crew attempting to tie bow ties (my husband told me he and his groomsmen spent forever trying to figure out how to tie a bow tie–I would love to have seen the puzzled looks on their faces!)
10. Groom waiting at the altar
11. Church or other ceremony location wide shot (with & without guests)
12. Bride walking down aisle ( Side Profile & Front ).  Photos of guests gazing in awe at the beauty of the bride in the background.
13. Father giving away bride
14. Groom over the shoulder shot of bride
15. Holding hands – Bride and Groom
16. Bride & Groom Kiss
17. Bride & Groom Leaving Church
18. Wide angle shot to get in the Receiving Line
19. Bride & Groom – Inside Limo Shot
20. Reception/Banquet Hall Outside shot
21. Detail shots before the guests get in–centerpieces, favors, all the things that the bride has worked so hard to plan!
22. Shot of the Invitation (if you want this, make sure you save one or send one to your photographer)
23. Food Shots (Cocktail Hour, Drinks, etc.)
24. Shot of each table full of guests
25. Shots of Bride & Groom with & without family
26. Bride and Groom Portraits (can be done before the ceremony if you don’t mind seeing your other half before the ceremony, this gives you more time to spend with your guests)
27. Bride & Groom with Bridesmaids & Groomsmen
28. Bride and Groom Hand & Ring Portraits
29. Rings shot close up
30. First Dance
31. Bride & Father Dance
32. Groom & Mother Dance
33. Bouquet Toss
34. Garter Toss
35. Cake Cutting, Bride and Groom Feeding each other
36. Misc. Guests Dancing
37. Bride & Groom Eating
38. Best Man & Maid of Honor Toast/Speeches
39. Parents speeches
40. Bride & Groom Toast/Speeches
41. Guestbook Signatures
42. Children Dancing with Bride & Groom
43. Bride & Groom’s Parents Dancing (Plus Grandparents)
44. Bride & Groom “Just Married” Vehicle – Driving Away or any form of send off that you plan–there are some amazing shots when people have sparklers!
45. …and my absolute favorite–the entire wedding shot.  This includes everyone who attends the wedding and requires a bit of planning, a very wide angle lens, and usually quite a bit of height to get everyone in this shot.  When it works out, it’s a great way to see everyone at your wedding, in “where’s waldo” style.

Any other ideas?